Neville's Day
by Siriusly.Obsessed.Grammarian
Summary: Neville has always considered himself to be clumsy, dim, and useless, but what if this wasn't the case? In this one-shot, I will speculate a single day in the life in Neville Longbottom.


**Neville's Day**

Neville Longbottom woke up with a crick in his neck. He'd fallen asleep at the Library…again. Usually he remembered to go to bed after a late night of studying, but last night he must have dozed off without realizing it.

Neville shook his head, trying to get rid of that sleepy fuzzing feeling. He yawned. Neville had been studying more often lately, trying to do better in classes. Well, actually, trying to keep up in classes. To everyone else, school seemed easy, but to Neville, it was the most difficult task on earth. No matter how hard he tried, he always merely "got by," but never excelled. It was like a curse (He'd already looked up the possibility of it being one, but was disappointed to find out otherwise).

Neville sighed. It was time to get back to work. He glanced at his watch. Oh no, he'd overslept and only had ten minutes to get to class! Neville hurriedly packed up his textbooks and raced to Transfiguration.

O0o0O

Neville flew into the classroom barely a minute before class started. He sighed with relief.

"Mr. Longbottom…cutting it a bit close this morning, aren't we?" Professor McGonagall asked sternly.

"Yes, ma'am. I'm Sorry, Professor." Neville apologized tiredly.

"See that it doesn't happen again." Professor McGonagall replied with a frown. Neville nodded, blushing. The class snickered.

Neville listened intently to the lecture, hoping to make up for his near tardiness, as well as gain some knowledge from the words spoken. No matter how hard he tried, however, he couldn't get the information to stick into his head. Neville sighed. He would just have to try harder.

O0o0O

His next class was Defense against the Dark Arts, which wasn't much, considering Delores Umbridge was teaching it. More book work. Neville hated book work. He was so much better at things he could actually practice and not memorize.

"Mr. Longbottom! What on earth are you wearing? You look like you slept in a pig sty." Professor Umbridge shouted indignity.

Neville looked down. His clothing was still wrinkled from sleeping in it last night, and he imagined his hair was a mess as well. He must look awful.

"I'm sorry, Professor Dumbridge…" Neville stuttered nervously. He hated being the center of attention.

The classroom filled with laughter, and Professor Umbridge looked outraged.

"What did you just call me? I must have misheard." Umbride ground out sweetly.

"I said I'm sorry, Professor Dumbridge…" Neville replied with confusion.

Realizing his mistake Neville turned white as a sheet.

"I'm sorry, Professor! I meant Umbridge…" Neville replied hurriedly, grimacing.

Professor Umbridge stared at Neville blankly, seeming to decide something.

"Of course you did, my dear. See that you remember that in the future, as well." She replied sweetly, then continuing with her lecture.

She must have decided Neville wasn't worth the trouble. He didn't know if he felt offended or grateful.

O0o0O

Next, Neville went to Potions…which was with the Slytherins. Neville grimaced. Something bad always seemed to happen in Potions, no matter how hard he tried to do well. Professor Snape just made him so uncomfortable; he seemed to lie wait for Neville to make a mistake. Neville shivered. It was just so strange, having someone constantly staring at your back or over your shoulder. As if he didn't have enough trouble already, without adding that on top. Neville sighed.

Oh well, he would still try his best anyways. Maybe today would be the day things changed.

O0o0O

When Neville entered the Potions classroom, everything was quiet. No one was there. Checking his watch, he noticed he was on time. Where was everyone? Had they switched rooms? Neville walked around carefully, half expecting the class to jump out and scare him. Nothing happened. Neville sighed.

Walking back out into the hallway, Neville made sure he was in the right room. Oh no, he'd done it again. He was in the wrong room! Professor Snape was going to kill him. Actually, he'd probably chop him into tiny bits, using the pieces for potions ingredients. Neville gulped.

Not wanting to be late for class (or later then he already was), Neville raced to find the correct room. There was only one problem. As Neville entered the hallway, he realized every room looked the same. He was lost. Sighing, Neville decided to try every door.

Awhile later:

Neville finally reached the last door (or what he assumed to be the last door), and entered. Neville stared in shock. He had found his classroom! Uh oh, he'd found his classroom. Neville looked around nervously for Professor Snape.

"Don't worry, Neville. Professor Snape went to go grab some more ingredients. I'm sure he won't notice you were late. You can help me with my potion." Hermione beckoned.

"Okay. Thanks, Hermione." Neville smiled, relieved.

Hermione nodded in response. Neville joined her, trying not to look too overwhelmed by the prospect of brewing a potion.

Neville and Hermione were just finishing the final touches on their potion when a loud voice startled them.

"I see nothing catastrophic has occurred in my absence," Professor Snape hissed, "If I find out otherwise, you may find yourselves in one of the jars in my potions lab."

Neville gulped.

Professor Snape then proceeded to go around the room, checking each potion. No one made above a P (poor), except the Slytherins. As he approached their table, Neville grimaced.

Professor Snape briskly walked up to the table, looked at their potion, and made a sour face. It was a few moments before he spoke.

"It is not completely terrible," Professor Snape spoke bitterly, "It is… acceptable."

Neville looked at Hermione in shock. Had he really made an A, with Hermione's help? Neville grinned.

"Do not presume to think that I didn't see you enter class late, Longbottom. Ten points from Gryffindor." Snape replied with a smirk.

Neville didn't care (too much) about the points, he was still in shock over his grade. While it wasn't an O, it was still a passing grade. Hermione, however, looking disappointed. She was used to getting perfect scores, but that rarely happened in Potions. Neville gave her a small smile. She smiled back, if a bit disheartened.

"Class is dismissed." Professor Snape growled.

For the first time in his life, Neville left Potions smiling.

O0o0O

Later that evening, Neville walked silently to the Room of Requirement, hoping not to be seen.

As he entered the room, he sighed with relief. He was finally in his element. Not only did he do well in D.A., but he excelled. The repetition, explanation, and practice of Dumbledore's Army was the perfect combination for a kinesthetic learner like Neville. In this room, Neville no longer felt stupid. He felt smart. Lining up with the other students, Neville smiled. This was where he belonged.

Neville fired off spell after spell, par Harry's instruction. Although everyone else did well, only Hermione, Neville, Ron, and Luna completed every spell perfectly.

Afterwards, Harry walked up to Neville, a smile on his face.

"Well done, Neville! You seem to be improving at every meeting, and are leaps and bounds above some of the others." Harry grinned.

"Thanks, Harry." Neville whispered.

"I have a proposition for you. Would you consider helping a few of the others during class? You have improved so much, and I'm sure your abilities would greatly help the others, as well. What do you say?" Harry replied, eyes sparkling.

Harry was asking him to help? He actually wanted Neville to teach the other students? Neville grinned. He could actually help a cause, instead of hinder it!

"Of course I'll help, Harry!" Neville replied happily.

"Great, mate. How about you start next week?" Harry responded with small smile.

Neville simply nodded enthusiastically. Harry chuckled, soon moving on to speak with others.

Neville was still in shock. Someone wanted his help? He wasn't useless? Neville's smile seemed to radiate the room.

O0o0O

Later that night, after getting ready for bed, Neville thought about his day. It had started off rather rocky, but had improved drastically by the end. Neville still couldn't wipe the smile off his face.

The idea that someone needed Neville seemed so foreign. Simply the thought that he was useful seemed ludicrous, yet here he was, useful. Neville supposed that, although he'd always considered himself worthless, others valued him quite a lot. Neville simply had to remember the proud look in Harry's eyes to validate that point.

Although Neville felt useless, that wasn't the case. Maybe others needed him more than he realized, and maybe he needed them. Neville smiled. He would never consider himself useless again, because that was a lie. Neville was worth something to his friends, and really, what else mattered. As long as those he loved the most loved him back, what else could Neville really ever need? Neville smiled. Nothing else mattered.

Neville grinned. He was worth something, after all.

Now all he had to do was show the world.

Neville smirked.


End file.
